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The story of trees (felling) in Flanders: what trees and icebergs have in common

Book Contribution - Chapter

Trees play a key role in several societal challenges. Like icebergs, they do much more than their visible top or crown suggests. They are natural and free air conditioners, they purify the air, provide underground carbon storage and biodiversity, and fulfill a scenic or social role in villages and cities. Moreover, they provide a green counterbalance to the increasing use of space in Flanders, something that could be experienced at first hand during the corona crisis. Still, trees often disappear in favor of other space claims. A screening of permit applications for the past thirty years in Flanders shows that applications for the felling of trees outside the forest are hardly ever refused. Three-quarters of the cases involve trees in private gardens. More than 12% of Flanders consists of gardens, which is about the combined area of forest and nature areas. Citizens and (local) permit issuers therefore nowadays leave an important mark on aboveground land use. In this paper, starting from the figures on felling requests, we try to better understand the history and motives behind the felling of trees in Flanders, and to look for a number of causes and solutions. Can inspiration be drawn from systems thinking to sharpen our understanding of which interventions work, and at which level?
Book: Plandag 2023
Number of pages: 12
Publication year:2023
Keywords:kapaanvragen, systeemdenken, ijsbergmodel
Accessibility:Open